Aide: Solyndra layoffs 'no es bueno'

Senior White House officials fretted just days before the November 2010 election about the bad press coverage they'd face if news leaked of Solyndra layoffs, according to new internal emails released Friday.

"Here's the deal — Solyndra is going to announce that they are laying off 200 of their 1,200 workers," White House deputy energy adviser Heather Zichal wrote Oct. 27, 2010, to her boss, Carol Browner and two other deputies. "No es bueno. Sounds like they will now make this announcement next week but press is sniffing around so it could come out sooner."

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Zichal forwarded the news of the layoffs on Nov. 1 to White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer and his deputy, Jennifer Psaki, including in the message news releases describing President Barack Obama's May 2010 visit to Solyndra’s Fremont, Calif., facility.

"They recently changed management and they have a good product ... but things for the company need to turn around or they will be in further jeopardy,” Zichal wrote in the email obtained from a government source by POLITICO. “We will all be coordinating with DOE and others on the press message but given the fact that the administration has made this such a high profile [stimulus] investment, we wanted you to be aware that this was coming."

The White House emails released Friday make no mention of the midterm election itself, and Obama’s top lawyer, Kathryn Ruemmler, said in an accompanying letter to House Republicans, “There is no indication of any involvement by the White House in Solyndra's decision to delay the announcement.”

The email release comes as Americans for Prosperity — a conservative group connected to the Koch brother oil magnates — readies a $6 million ad campaign on Solyndra aimed at Obama. ABC News reports that TV spots are set to air starting Monday in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Previously released messages have made a connection between the layoffs and the elections. In November, House Republicans investigating the collapse of the California solar company despite its winning a $535 million loan guarantee released documents indicating Energy Department officials discussed the timing of the bad news with Argonaut Private Equity, the Tulsa, Okla.-based venture capital firm founded by Obama bundler George Kaiser.

“DOE continues to be cooperative and have indicated that they will fund the November draw on our loan (app. $40 million) but have not committed to December yet,” an Argonaut adviser wrote in an Oct. 30 email released by the House GOP. “They did push very hard for us to hold our announcement of the consolidation to employees and vendors to Nov. 3 — oddly they didn’t give a reason for that date.”

Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison first warned DOE officials of its plans on Oct. 25, 2010, in an email that worked its way up the chain of command to Browner. The New York Times and other outlets reported Solyndra's plans on Nov. 3 to shut its first factory, called Fab 1, lay off about 40 employees and not renew contracts for about 150 temporary workers. That was one day after Republicans gained control of the House.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:56 p.m. on January 13, 2012.